Accountant jailed for stealing $16m for gambling sees sentence increased after judge admits math error

An accountant who embezzled nearly HK$16 million from his employer over a seven-year period to fund his gambling habits and pay for a girlfriend who was a sex worker has seen his prison sentence increased after the judge admitted to a miscalculation during the initial sentencing.

Tam Chun-fung, the 48-year-old former account and administration supervisor at the party product supplier DSL Holding Limited, was handed a corrected sentence of six and a half years in prison by the High Court. He had previously pleaded guilty to five counts of theft.

The court heard that between 2017 and 2024, Tam exploited his position as the sole member of the company's accounting department, a role in which he was completely trusted by his boss.

He forged his employer's signature on more than 400 cheques, specifically 419 transactions, and disguised the withdrawals as payments for supplies or to vendors.

In his defense, it was noted that Tam had a clean prior record, was introverted, and had worked diligently to earn an accounting degree with the help of student loans.

His monthly salary at the time of the offenses was approximately HK$28,000. The defense stated that all the stolen funds were spent on gambling and on his girlfriend, who was a sex worker, and that he was deeply remorseful after being caught, managing to repay HK$130,000.

During the initial sentencing last week, Deputy High Court Judge Tony Li described the crimes as a severe breach of trust, noting the sophisticated and premeditated nature of the long-running scheme.

He set a starting point of 10 years and 3 months, which was reduced for the guilty plea and further adjusted down for Tam's admission of guilt and partial repayment, resulting in a final sentence of 6 years and 5 months.

However, in a highly unusual turn, Judge Li reconvened the court this afternoon to announce he had "miscalculated" the sentence.

After re-evaluating the concurrent terms for the five separate charges, he corrected the total prison time, increasing the final sentence by one month to six and a half years.

 

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